Settle in, folks, because today we’ve got not one, but two presenters from this spring’s Prince conference at the University of Salford: interdisciplinary artist/activist Felicia Holman and independent scholar/activist Harold Pride. Both were part of the organic community of Black artists and academics who came together in Manchester and, each in their own way, helped to reclaim Prince’s legacy as a specifically African American artist. The three of us talk about that, as well as their specific papers–Harold’s on the underrated, short-lived “Band with No Name” from 1987–1988; Felicia’s on Prince’s autodidacticism and its connection to traditions of Black self-determination–and, as usual, a lot of other things along the way. It’s a great conversation that could have easily been twice as long; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I still have a handful of these interviews lined up, and will be posting them at least through Labor Day. If you want to hear them, you can follow the podcast on any of the major services (iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play). Appearances to the contrary, I’m also still writing: I’ll be back to the ol’ grind next week. See you then!

2 thoughts on “Podcast: Everybody Shut Up, Listen to the Band – Felicia Holman and Harold Pride on the Salford Purple Reign Conference”

Very interesting hearing Prince’s voice in the introductions at the beginning. His voice has an alternating adult-adolescent quality to it. At times the intonation and “cracking” in his voice almost sound like an adolescent going through puberty, but this happens only when he is introducing certain people, hmmm…Prince was an example of an unlikely success story, someone who of his own doing and determination, rose above his circumstances to achieve artistic and financial achievement at the highest leve, the “American dream”. He was a self taught musician AND businessman AND self educated person on many topics. For him to even be able to combine, advance, and maintain artistry and business and spirituality, and basically do it on is own, was quite an underestimated feat! If he was “weird,” I (and everybody) want some of that kind of “weird.” Peace and love!

Completely agree. One thing that occurred to me when Felicia was talking, but I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the conversation, was just how self-possessed he was from the very beginning. Demanding a three-album deal with creative control right out the gate took huge balls (for lack of a better word); I think our corporate-centric culture encourages us to see this as being unreasonable or “uppity,” but if only all of us had the conviction (and the power to back it up!) to stand up to our “masters” like this.